There is quite the risk of fan rage and script overload when trying to adapt a
very popular manga and anime series (that transition in itself a challenge) to the relatively compact movie medium. I went into
this movie without actually watching any of the previous versions, and I really liked it (and so
did fans of the series, it seems). It has got all the Japanese samurai and culture points you'd wish for, but at the same time it has that tempo and clarity of characters and ease of watching that you'd expect from a Hollywood movie (in a good way), which makes this a very good choice for a action movie. Yes, it got its serious points (don't expect a Jackie Chan movie), but it is all delivered with a choice menu where you can ignore those aspects and just enjoy the ride. The basic story in the movie version is one of a man unwilling to kill any more (for reasons well covered in the movie) and how he struggles with that while at the same time wanting to protect his friends and what's good. With that you get a lot of action and pent up emotions exploding in fight scenes that never quite goes over into brutal, but stays on the entertaining/meaningful side. And a cute love story, of course. ^_^
